1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer-readable recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Of information processing apparatuses including a touch panel, the information processing apparatuses that perform magnification or reduction of a display image by a user performing a given operation to the touch panel are already known. Such a display of the display image in a magnified or reduced manner is one of the most basic functions of the information processing apparatus that displays images. In particular, the operation to magnify a display image is an operation of a high use frequency as it can be said to be the operation almost always performed in a case when the user wants to grasp a specific portion of the display image by magnifying it. When the user operates to display a display image in a magnified or reduced manner, it is thus important to improve its operability.
As an information processing apparatus that displays a display image in such a magnified or reduced manner, disclosed is a hand-held terminal of improved usability by permitting the operation of rotation, magnification, reduction, scrolling, and others to be performed on a display image such as a map image (see Japanese Patent No. 4542637). The hand-held terminal determines that a magnifying operation is received when the action performed on a touch panel is to move two fingers away from each other (what is called pinch-out), and determines that a reducing operation is received when the action performed is to bring two fingers closer together (what is called pinch-in).
Furthermore, as an information processing apparatus that displays a display image in a magnified or reduced manner, disclosed is a map display device that permits the display in a magnified manner to be made reliably and rapidly by performing a double-tapping operation on any point on a map to improve its operability (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-141340).
While the hand-held terminal disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4542637 can display a display image in a magnified or reduced manner by a pinch-out or pinch-in operation, respectively, it is necessary to touch a plurality of places on the touch panel at the same time. Consequently, there is a drawback in that a touch panel not capable of detecting touch operations made on a plurality of places cannot be employed. Furthermore, there is a drawback in that, when the hand-held terminal is operated with one hand, it is difficult to perform the above-described pinch-out and pinch-in operations.
Meanwhile, the map display device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-141340 has a drawback in that, because the display magnified by only a predetermined magnification ratio is provided in the magnified display of display image by double-tapping operation, a display magnified by a magnification ratio the user desires is not permitted.
In view of the above-described situations, there is a need to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer program product that improve operability in magnifying and reducing a display image.